The present invention pertains to micro-identification labels for affixing to personal property as a deterrent to theft, and as an aid to law enforcement authorities in identifying and recovering stolen goods.
Operation Identification, started in California ten years ago, is a program in which citizens mark their personal property do discourage thieves from stealing it. The citizens go to a police station and borrow an engraving tool to mark their property. Each citizen whoe does so is assigned a permanent identification number based on a code devised by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). An example of an NCIC number is MN-027-11-3-XXXXX, MN identifies the State of Minnesota, 027 identifies the County of Hennepin within the State of Minnesota, 11 identifies the City of Minneapolis within the County of Hennepin, and 3 identifies the third percinct within the City of Minneapolis. The XXXXX represents the permanent identification number of an individual citizen.
After the citizen is assigned a number and loaned on engraving tool he goes home, marks much of his personal property with this number (at least the types of things commonly stolen, e.g., cameras, stereos, etc.), makes a list of the marked property and puts the list in a safe place. Later if something is stolen the citizen calls the police and notifies them how it was marked.
Indentification programs such as this not only aid in the recovery of stolen property, but also serve as a deterrent to crime. Part of the deterrent effect comes from the fact that home owners registered under the program place a decal or sticker on their window warning a would-be burglar that the personal property inside the house is marked and registered. Another part of the deterrent effect comes from the fact that positive identification of goods as having been stolen makes it much easier to obtain a conviction of the thieves.
The present invention pertains to a program such as Operation Identification and provides significant improvements over the method of marking of property with an engraving tool. The present invention provides micro-identification labels which have identification numbers printed thereon. The labels are provided prepunched and preprinted in a card, and have adhesive material on the back thereof, for quick and easy attachment to items of personal property. The card is merely held against the item, and a punch is used to push a micro-identification label from the card into adherence of the item.
The labels are small enough so as to be inconspicuous so as to avoid discovery by a fast working thief. A fluorescent material mixed into the glue makes them very easy to spot by the authorities, through the use of a "black light". The printed numbers of the micro-identification labels are too small to be read with the unaided eye, but can easily be read with the assistance of a simple magnifying device. In the usual case, goods which are suspected as having been stolen are usually found in large quantities in a store or apartment. The police can then search each item under a black light for the micro-identification labels. The labels can be used instead of an engraving tool or in addition thereto.
Another advantage of the micro-identification labels is that their small size and ease of application makes them useful for marking items which cannot practically be marked by the engraving method. For example, the inside of the back cap of a wristwatch, and the bottom of a diamond in a ring can easily be marked through the use of the present invention.